Eternal Claim: Shadows of the Homeland
by Patrick O'Ceannliath
Summary: After unleashing Hope upon mankind, Kratos' most famous and possibly only selfless act, it appears to be the end for the God of War. However, Kratos finds himself plunged into an unfamiliar realm, with an adversary more familiar than Kratos' realizes. Realizing everything Kratos has come to understand is now in question, he fights to retain the title of God of War...of the world.
1. Chapter 1

Eternal Claim

By Patrick O'Ceannliath

Chapter 1

After unleashing Hope upon Mankind, Kratos lie atop Olympus, feeling his life force bleed out, a gaping hole where he thrust the Blade of Olympus. Not knowing whether to feel satisfaction, or peace, or both, he simply lay there, thinking there was nothing thereafter.

Little did Kratos know, he could not be more wrong.

As the final visions of Earth's apocalypse began to grow fuzzy and fade from his eyes, in an instant, everything became sharper yet again. Then, the colors of the world seemed to be inverted, and Kratos had the sense of soaring forward, towards the stars, into some abyss from which he had never before been to.

Kratos flailed, trying to fight whatever force was compelling him, but he was powerless against it.

"Don't resist Kratos." said a dark, echoing male voice. "You are going where you belong."

"Athena?!" said Kratos, the last familiar immortal he knew. "What trickery is this?!"

"I am not your Goddess." said the voice. "I am your master!"

After this statement, Kratos found himself falling fast, landing frontwise upon a gray, rocky surface. Despite the impact, and the pain, there was no blood, nor broken bones. Enraged by this transport against his will, Kratos stood up quickly, looking around for his abductor.

"Show yourself coward!" demanded Kratos. "Come and face the God of War!"

The walls surrounding Kratos seemed to be made of the same stone that stood beneath him. Except the walls were laden with faces; some fierce, some looking fearful, some that appeared in agony. Not long after making his demand, the ground and walls began to shake, and the walls began to weep blood. The falls of blood seemed neverending, and soon, that's all that Kratos could see instead of the faces. Shortly thereafter, a deep cackle began to emerge, softly, then reverberating throughout Kratos' entire surroundings. Kratos looked beneath his feet, and saw weapons of all kinds arise from the stone.

"'God of War'." scoffed the voice. "So many of your kind claim that title, yet few live up to the reputation!"

"Enough of your taunts!" said Kratos. "Show yourself, NOW!"

"In good time, Kratos, in good time." said the voice. "You should show some respect to your master."

"Kratos is slave to no one!" replied Kratos. "I am a God of Olympus! The power of war underneath my command!"

"Or is it you, that is under it's command?" said the voice.

A black shadow gathered throughout the chamber, and began to grow, encompassing one wall, then spreading to the next, and the next. The shadow crept downward on the ground, inching towards Kratos, until the entire chamber was pitch black.

A figure arose in front of Kratos, in the shape of a man, but a dark, shadow man. As the form continued to take shape, designs began to appear upon its body, beginning at the rib cage, and working its way down throughout the being. As the designs formed, it appeared to be like a rib cage, which melded into an exoskeleton, which melded into armor, and melded into claws for the being's hands. Where the being's face should be, a flash of fire emerged. Through the flames, the being's face seemed to change continuously, until finally, it had a fiery face identical to Kratos.

With a growl, Kratos grabbed for the being's neck, only to grasp transparent wisps of shadow, which caused the being to laugh in amusement. Furious, Kratos threw a left hook towards the being's head, only for it to pass right through, and for Kratos' fist to be lighted aflame. Growling with both pain and frustration, Kratos waved his left hand so the flames disappeared, and found the being gone. Looking behind him, the being was there, and Kratos attempted to tackle him, only yet again to pass through. The weapons among the stone seemed to part, so that Kratos was not impaled upon them.

"Is that any way to treat an old friend, Kratos?" asked the being, amused.

"You're no friend of mine!" said Kratos. "Who are you?! Speak now!"

"Why Kratos, we've known each other ever since you underwent the Agoge in Sparta." the being said cooly, his flaming face changing shape in spans of seconds. "We became even more familiar when you became a God. I've been your greatest purpose in life, and I'm responsible, for all that you are as a warrior."

"Damn your cryptic riddles!" said Kratos. "What is your NAME?!"

"I've gone by so many names over the years, in so many tongues." said the being. "Guerra, Zhanzeng, Milchama, Impi, Cogadh, Bellum, Senso, Dain, Jeonjaeng, Jaga, Strid….my names go on and on."

The being grasped Kratos around his throat, holding him in the air. Kratos struggled to breath. Loosening his grip, the being looked straight into Kratos' eyes.

"But you will know me best by a different name." said the being. "Polemos."

Eyes looking in disbelief, and anger, Kratos struggled harder against Polemos' grip.

"Impossible!" said Kratos.

"No, only for you and your limited Godly mind." said Polemos, releasing Kratos. "I am WAR! Polemos! My mother and father were Chaos, and we, the Katagoghe, my siblings and I, poured forth! Right after the Primordials! We were better, stronger, more powerful!"

"If you are Polemos, then I command you to submit!" said Kratos.

At this command, Polemos cackled deeply and loudly, much heartier than before.

"Foolish God!" said Polemos. "The Gods and Goddesses for years think it was they who held power over the Katagoghe, when in fact, it was the other way around."

"What is this 'Katagoghe' Race of Chaos you speak of?!" asked Kratos.

"A Race of Chaos, that's exactly what we are." explained Polemos. "My siblings and I, we are the forces behind the power of the Gods and Goddesses. We are the source of their power, and through us, the Gods and Goddesses are granted immortality! It is we who are in control of the universe, not you pathetic Gods and Goddesses! You are merely the vessel, the necessary conduit, for our great power!"

"Blasphemy!" said Kratos. "I alone control the power of war! I alone, and you will bow before me!"

"'You alone'?! Ha!" snorted Polemos. "Perhaps in the world you know, but there are a great many other people within the entire world. You're simply ignorant to think you can be the only immortal!"

"Of what do you speak?" asked Kratos. "The so-called 'Persian Gods'? Bah! Creations of the imagination of men, nothing more! Olympians are the only true Gods!"

"Still so obstinate, still so blind, Kratos!" said Polemos. "I am the only true commander of war, because I am war itself, and no immortal has been able to best me, much less best their immortal peers!"

"I can, and will, best you!" said Kratos. "Along with any pretenders who stand in my way!"

"I'm glad to hear that, Kratos." said Polemos. "Because you'll have to go through them, before you can get to me."

The walls instantly stopped running blood, and one of them began to twist and form, gravel spilling from its efforts. Within a minute, a great, demonic face appeared within the stone, and its mouth began to open. As the mouth open, its jaw extended further and further out, revealing a dark opening, with a drawbridge to get across.

"If you are truly the God of War, prove it!" said Polemos. "All the immortals from all the world, claiming to be the God or Goddess of War, have tried to tame me, and while some came close, all have failed in the end. Here, you enter the House of War, and you stand to either walk out, as God of War for all the world, or stay forever, a testament in my collection to my superiority."

Kratos looked at the long drawbridge, his mind racing. This could very well be a trap, but nevertheless, Kratos was not about to run from a fight.

"I accept your challenge!" said Kratos. "You will regret the day you questioned my divinity!"

"Excellent!" said Polemos, clapping. "In that case, welcome to my home! Follow the path inside, it will lead you to the realms you must face, before you can face me. Once you defeat the Gods, Goddesses, or both, of that realm, you may move on to the next. If you fail, you will belong to the House of War, for all eternity. If you succeed, you will face me, and our battle will decide once and for all who is the master, and who is the slave."

Kratos felt a strange, burning sensation about his arms, and felt something grow within his hands.

"Of course, I cannot send you into my home without a weapon." said Polemos. "There they are, your dearest friends."

Kratos looked down, and the Blades of Chaos had once again joined with his body. Determined to end any and all rivalries for the Throne of the God of War for all time, Kratos rushed into the entrance of the House of War, the drawbridge closing behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Kratos entered the House of War, seeing nothing but pitch black inside, and was engulfed in the darkness as the door closed and sealed behind him.

"You are now entering my dominion." said Polemos' voice. "Here, these will help you feel more at home."

Kratos felt a cold, tingling sensation throughout his body, and when the sensation ended, he realized all his previous tools and weapons, earned through the blood of Olympians, Titans, Fates, Furies, humans and immortals alike, had returned to him. All manner of blade variations, all special weapons, he now possessed, and looked forward to calling upon them when the time came.

Then, almost as quickly as the first sensation appeared, Kratos felt a burning-hot, flesh peeling sensation all throughout his body. Growling through the pain, he managed to stay off his knees, but could feel that all his secondary weapons, all his blade variations, had left him; all that was left were the fully-loaded Blades of Chaos, the Golden Fleece, the Boots of Hermes, the Wings of Icarus, and the Head of Helios.

"Your weapons are within the world, and can be summoned at certain times." explained Polemos. "If you succeed in defeating adversaries, certain champions have powerful weapons of their own you can claim as your spoils, add them to your collection. You will see; in the meantime, come forward."

Polemos' voice disappeared, and Kratos defiantly stood where he was. Pulling out the Head of Helios, he tried to shine light within the darkness, to see where the path led; it didn't work. Kratos tried over and over again, and still no effect.

"The Head of Helios will do you no good in this section of my home." said Polemos. "Your only way to begin your journey is to come forward."

Listening, and thinking he pinpointed Polemos' voice, Kratos charged forward, intent on smashing Polemos into a wall, the Boots of Hermes leaving a blaze behind them. No wall, but Kratos found he had progressed forward, despite that he could not see even the faintest glimmer of light anywhere.

"That's it Kratos, come and get me!" taunted Polemos, his voice sounding as if it were several feet away from Kratos' face. "Show me what the mighty Olympian God of War is made of!"

"Oh I'll show you, and you'll get more than you bargain for you coward!" replied Kratos, rushing forward at a running start, before charging again, with no result.

"Kratos, the Ghost of Sparta, the greatest Spartan general ever to serve Kings Leonidas and Pleistarchus." laughed Polemos. "Completely helpless, in the dark, like an unworthy sickling tossed to the bones beneath Mount Taygetus, still festering inside the womb! Come, and strike me if you can, oh mighty Kratos!"

Kratos' rage, now having built to a full boil, screamed a mighty scream, and charged with the might of 1000 bull elephants, towards the sound of Polemos' voice.

For the third time, Kratos missed Polemos, yet his charge had not been in vain.

Kratos crashed through what felt like a solid stone wall, and found himself in a hallway made of solid stone, with light ahead at the end of the hallway. Kratos walked towards the light, feeling slightly colder as he approached, and smelled the scent of earth, and a hint of decay. When he exited the hallway, he now could see exactly where he was.

The Talaporia Fields; a barren, rocky, wide hilltop above Sparta to the East, where students of the Agoge are sent to fend for themselves, tested against the elements of the earth and of the mind, with the only two ways out being victory or death. Kratos was sent in one of the harshest winters with his fellow Agoge pupils, surviving by killing or foraging for anything that could be eaten, including dead pupils. It was one of many horrific trials of the Agoge that molded Kratos into the perfect war god he was today.

Kratos looked below to admire his beloved Sparta, but was enraged by what he saw.

The city burned, besieged by drakons, Cyclopes, harpies, and fiery rocks falling from the sky. Gritting his teeth in rage, he grabbed the Blades of Chaos, and started to make his way down the mountain, ready to assist his brave Spartan soldiers in battle. He could hear their prayers, and he would answer them with a vengeance.

Charging down the mountain, Kratos felt a combination of burning and shocking pain, and was thrown backward. He tried again to get past, but the same result happened, and the Boots of Hermes were no help in assisting him in breaking through. After his final attempt, Kratos could hear a familiar female voice, cackling at him.

"Foolish Spartan!" said the voice. "You can't help them, and you never will! You must first defeat Polemos, and Sparta will be restored! But you'll likely die at the hands of another war god or goddess before getting close."

Kratos turned around in disbelief, realizing that the voice he heard did indeed belong to whom he suspected.

"Athena?!" said Kratos, blades at the ready. "How did you get here?!"

"The same way you did." replied Athena. "How do you think I became so powerful? Polemos is to thank; for years, we thought we wielded him, when it was he who was actually wielding us!"

"You are wasting my time!" spat Kratos. "Tell me where he is!"

"He's everywhere Kratos!" laughed Athena. "Has your immortality made you so dense that you cannot see that? You won't face his true form until you eliminate your adversaries, starting here, in the Sepulcher of Reclamation, the first of two Sepulchers you must pass through before entering the world and facing the rest!"

"Very well." said Kratos. "I will do what I must, kill who I must! How many adversaries do I slay before reaching Polemos?"

"All of them." said Athena. "Every last one, throughout the entire world. The world is far bigger than what we have come to be familiar with, and we are a mere scratch above the cosmic surface."

"Enough!" said Kratos. "Spare me your philosophies! How do I conquer this part of the realm, so I may move on?"

"Simple." replied Athena. "Before you can be the God of War, with undisputed power, you must be undisputed in your own realm first! Your adversaries and contenders shall face you here, in Greece. Destroy them on, and you advance; fall, and you are forever a slave!"

"So be it!" said Kratos, brandishing the Blades of Chaos. "I am KRATOS! God of War, Destroyer of Olympus, Ghost of Sparta, Slayer of Gods, Killer of Ares, Destroyer of Worlds! I am absolute, and any who dare challenge me, show yourself!"

"I already have." said Athena.

Before Kratos had time to react to her statement, she lunged at him with both swords drawn, and all he could do was roll out of the way, with both blades nicking his right bicep. Once back on his feet, Kratos was ready, and managed to clash the Blades of Chaos against Athena's twin blades the second time around, a flash of sparks emitting from their connection, each deity trying to muscle the other one into submission, pushing against each other's blades.

"You killed me brother!" said Athena. "But in that death, I became better, stronger, worthy of the world! But then, you robbed me of Hope, giving it to mankind! They were to bow before me!"

Kratos' push was the one that prevailed, releasing them from the sword lock, and again they continued to clash and slash blades. Summoning strength from the Blades of Chaos, Kratos executed a Cyclone of Fury in Athena's direction, the blades tearing through the air. Every hit connected with Athena, however due to her semi-omnipotent state, they passed right through her body, as if she were a wisp of smoke. Athena laughed at Kratos, grasping both blades and flinging him with her strength to the other side of her, Kratos grunting harshly as his front hit the ground.

"You have no chance against me, Ghost of Sparta!" said Athena. "I'm far more powerful than any god or goddess in the history of Olympus ever was!"

Kratos shook off the surprise attack, and jumped back up. Clearly, he would have to think of a non-conventional way to dispatch Athena.

Athena sailed towards him in a "drill-bit" maneuver, her body spinning with both blades aimed at Kratos. Using the Blades of Olympus, he did managed to grasp the blades using the Olympian Ascension, launching himself, Athena and her blades into the air, and jumping back down at an angle to avoid Athena. Athena sailed back down to the ground, and began to strike at him with her blades. At a distance, Kratos parried them with the Blades of Chaos, using the chains to keep the distance between them.

"Listen to yourself Athena!" said Kratos. "You're sounding like Zeus, just as corrupt and devious! You are not the Athena I came to know and serve!"

"No, I'm not!" said Athena, gaining ground towards Kratos. "I'm better, more powerful! You unlocked my true potential, and then robbed me of the means to use it! I was to rule mankind, save them from the destruction you caused; all would bow before me!"

Soon enough, Athena had closed the distance between them, forcing her and Kratos back to a melee blade battle.

"And what of me Athena?!" said Kratos, again bladelocked with her, looking her straight in her pupil-less eyes. "Where did I fit in to your great plan of resurrection?!"

The expression on Athena's face was one of surprise, and it was clear she wasn't prepared to be asked this question.

"I….I would have rewarded you." said Athena. "I planned to give you your life back….your wife, your daughter."

At this statement, all the rage, emotion, strength, and sheer brutality swelled up inside of Kratos, and came bursting forth. Raising the Blades of Chaos high above his head, Kratos swung them, and hit Athena hard in the side of the face with the ends of the blades, knocking her to the ground.

"YOU LIIIIIIIIIIE!" bellowed Kratos. "If you were to be the savior of mankind, there has to be a destructor, and that was going to be ME! Killing me would have been your greatest triumph, and men would worship you for ages!"

Staggering as she got up, Athena held her blades in a defensive stance, and for the first time in her life as a goddess, she felt a sensation few immortals ever felt, which Kratos could feel emanating from her.

Fear.

"NOW I WILL END YOU!" Kratos cried out.

His body surging with energy, he became possessed by the Rage of Sparta, and gripped the Blades of Chaos tightly in his hands; the one on the right transformed into a Claw of Hades, and the one on the left transformed into the Nemesis Whip. It was as if Kratos' raw power and feeling summoned them.

Charging forward, Kratos began to slash in a berserker mode, with a force that took all of Athena's energy to keep up with. The Nemesis Whip grasped Athena by the midsection, clawing her in midair with a Righteous Ascension, and the Claw of Hades pummeled her with a Hades Curse.

Athena screamed out in pain as the supernatural blades tore into her, feeling as though she were being flayed with red-hot sword blades. Although there was no blood, and the blades seemed only to grasp her misty form and nothing solid, it was as if she were corporeal as a human, the way she felt the pain.

On Kratos' next launch, the blades both harpooned her, one in each shoulder, shaking her of her twin swords, and then slammed her to the ground. Kratos followed up with an up-close charge, hacking away at Athena's divine being with both blades, like a woodcutter with a hatchet. Athena continued to cry out, desperately trying to strike and block with her hands, but she was no match for Kratos' brutality.

Finally, Kratos drove both blades right into where Athena's heart would be, and lifted her off the ground. The Nemesis Whip blade held her in place, and Kratos commanded the Claw of Hades to perform a soul rip. On regular enemies, it would have ripped the soul straight from their body, but it was different for Athena. The Claw dug right into Athena, grasping as sharply as it could, and just as the Nemesis Whip retracted, so did the Claw of Hades; it looked as though it had taken Athena in her entirety, absorbing her into the power of the blades. However, just as the apparent "soul" of Athena had been absorbed, a very bloody, very human Athena, fell from the blade to the ground.

The Rage of Sparta, as well as the Nemesis Whip and Claw of Hades, disappated after the absorption, and Kratos looked down upon Athena in disbelief. Athena lay there, covered in blood and slices throughout her armor and her body, half-panting, half-moaning in pain, crawling on her hands and knees to escape.

"L-look what yo-uu've DONE Kra-tos!" Athena sputtered out, coughing up blood after doing so. "I'm, I'm m.., I'm mm..I'm MORTAL!"

Kratos understood now, the Claw of Hades had worked backwards in her case; instead of ripping a soul from a living body, it acted as if it ripped a living body from a soul, or in Athena's case, a mortal form from a divine essence. Kratos could feel a newfound surge of energy since the absorption, and found that his scratches and bruises from the fighting, had healed. He'd absorbed Athena's divinity, and now, he went over to Athena to finish what he started.

Trying to crawl away faster, but to no avail, Athena's breathing and pained moaning became more prominent, and performed what passed for screaming from a weakened mortal body, when Kratos came closer. Using his left hand, he grabbed Athena by the back of her hair, and placed his foot on her lower back.

"Your tyranny will never come to fruition!" said Kratos. "You should have stuck to wisdom. Now, you die a mere mortal!"

Kratos was about to use his blade, when all of the sudden, the ground shook, and another voice echoed throughout the realm. It was the voice of an adult female, which echoed and reverberated.

"KRATOOOOSSSSS!" the eerie voice cried out. "YOU BETRAAAAAYED ME!"

Kratos paused, distantly recognizing the voice, but he could not remember who it belonged to; he did not recognize it to belong to any of the Olympian goddesses, it certainly was not Lysandras, nor any woman that stuck out in Kratos' mind, mortal or immortal. The voice was eerily familiar, and seemed to pierce under Kratos' skin like cold mercury.

"Who are you?!" demanded Kratos. "Polemos, is this one of your tricks?! Tell me your name woman!"

"YOU WERE MINE KRATOS!" replied the voice. "AND NOW YOU SHALL PAYYYYYY!"

Kratos looked down at Athena, who seemed equally as shocked as he was, although she seemed to have an even better indication of who the voice belonged to.

"She….she…" started Athena, unable to say much more. "Her voice…..the sound of my shame!"

"Then be shamed no more." Said Kratos, gripping the blade in his right hand. "Leave this world, the same way you entered!"

Holding her tight by her hair, Kratos drove back his right arm, and plunged one of the Blades of Chaos, upside down, into the back of Athena's skull, which came out through the middle of her face. Letting go of her hair, he thrust his blade upward, splitting Athena's skull in half, blood and brain matter flying from both sides at the slice. Athena's lifeless body slumped to the ground, a pool of blood forming underneath the remains of her head.

Turning his back on Athena's body, Kratos continued towards the road leading to Sparta. Using the Blades of Chaos, he swiped in the road's direction, expecting to see that the field binding him to this location had been removed, only to find his blade bounce back at him.

"You're a long way from being finished, Ghost of Sparta!" said an unfamiliar man's voice from behind him. "Now it's my turn!"


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Kratos turned around abruptly, expecting a new foe to be behind him, yet there was none.

"Now who challenges the God of War?!" demanded Kratos. "You are nowhere to be found!"

"Oh I'm here Kratos." said the snake-like voice, followed by laughing. "Watch out from above!"

Kratos soon realized the voice of his adversary had come not from the ground, but from the sky, which went pitch black, except for the stars covering it. From the myriad of stars, 8 of them burned brightly, and descended upon the ground. The stars danced around each other for a moment, and soon took specific positions. Once they'd locked into their positions, the silhouette of a man formed.

The figure stood at about 8.5 feet tall, with rippling muscles, and as the man's figure solidified, Kratos could see that it was something more than just a mere human soldier. The creature's skin was comprised of colors of the night; a midnight purple base color, with dark blue markings throughout his body. The figure's eyes, like the stars that helped form him, burned a deep orange. Short, black hair was atop the creature's head, human-like teeth except for a pair of sharp tusks on the upper and lower jaw, long black spikes began to protrude from his shoulders and back, and his head and toes had sharp claws, ready to shred anything that got in their way. The creature stood there looking at Kratos, with an air superiority and amusement.

"Greetings Kratossss!" hissed the figure. "So nice to finally meet you! It isn't often I have heroes named after me, much less one that becomes a god of war."

"I do not know you!" said Kratos. "Tell me who you are or I will cut it out of you!"

"Is that any way to talk to your namesake?!" said the creature, raising its arms to the sky and flexing his biceps and claws. "I am Cratus, son of Pallas and Styx! I am all that is strong and mighty! Mankind would be nothing more than a herd of bleating lambs if it were not for me!"

"The ancient God of Strength!" said Kratos. "Too bad you had fled to whatever realm you chose to hide in; otherwise you would have been killed alongside the Olympians!"

"Silence fool!" demanded Cratus. "Your mother chose your name as a tribute to me! She was one of the few true worshippers that recognized the real gods and goddesses! I was her patron, and I made sure you were born strong and not disposed at the foot of Taygetus!"

"'True gods and goddesses', bah!" scoffed Kratos. "Hercules was god of strength, and you never did challenge him for the throne!"

"Enough!" said Cratus. "Hercules is dead, by your hand, thereby robbing me of my chance to challenge the little upstart! I think by killing you, the killer of Hercules, I will have proven myself twice over as the undisputed god of strength, and even war!"

"Do your worst!" said Kratos, brandishing his blades. "I promise to leave you in even more pieces than just 8 stars!"

Upon Kratos' challenge, Cratus slammed the ground with both his fists, sending a shockwave that sent Kratos flying into the air. Fortunately, once in the air, Kratos anchored one of the Blades of Chaos into the ground, and sent the other flying towards Cratus' head, missing but giving a good slice through Cratus' left shoulder blade. Once on the ground, Kratos tried to charge with a slam using the Boots of Hermes, but was deflected upon impact by Cratus throwing his arms up in front of his upper body, absorbing all the shock from Kratos' slam, followed by a crushing head-butt to Kratos' face, which knocked him back slightly. The god of strength laughed at this display.

"You cannot hope to defeat me Kratos!" laughed Cratus. "I am older, stronger, far more than you and Hercules combined!"

To follow up his taunt, Cratus' hands enlarged, and he took 2 mighty swiped at Kratos, both connecting, with slash marks across Kratos' chest. Kratos jumped backwards to minimize the damage, and countered with a Tartarus Rage attack, slamming his blades into Cratus, and following up with a Cyclone of Chaos, both attacks connecting with Cratus. Deciding to get up close and personal, Kratos executed a Hyperion Ram, grabbing Cratus with the Blades of Chaos and hurling himself toward Cratus, hitting Cratus in the face with both fists and knocking him backwards several feet. Kratos attempted to follow up with two slashes from the Blades of Chaos, but Cratus was ready, rolling well out of the way from Kratos' counter move.

Using the opportunity, Cratus rolled forward with immense force, that knocked Kratos off his feet, but he was able to recover with the Wings of Icarus, and countered with a Tartarus Retribution, rapidly hitting Cratus with well-placed blows from the Blades of Chaos, to which half were effective. Cratus growled as the blows from the blades connected, however he conjured his power and his arm and fist grew, and he knocked Kratos backward with a powerful forward punch, his oversized fist like a wrecking ball. Fortunately for Kratos, he used the momentum from the punch to his advantage, and rolled backwards, back up to his feet.

"You disappoint me Spartan!" hissed Cratus. "For one to take my name, one must be strong, and you have not proven yourself! Earn my namesake! Or has your mother chosen the name of a true god for a failure?!"

"Enough on my mother!" said Kratos. "What do you know of her anyway?!"

"I know that Zeus was happy with my choice!" said Cratus, pounding the ground once more to create shockwaves, which Kratos managed to avoid. "Had he not defeated me, it would be him procuring for me, not the other way around."

"What is this nonsense you speak of?!" said Kratos.

"So glad you asked." said Cratus, fighting back Kratos counterattacks. "I shall tell you of how the Ghost of Sparta came screaming into this world!"

The two gods fought, neither gaining ground over the other for long, and Cratus gave his explanation for Kratos' creation.

"You see, all of us immortals must carve out a path in life." Explained Cratus as he blocked moves from Kratos and delivered counter-attacks, neither of which were completely successful each time. "Zeus was omnipotent, and knew it. During the war between the Titans and the Olympians, I sided with the Titans, and challenged Zeus directly, but alas I could not defeat him! Zeus humored himself by offering to spare me if I could prove myself useful, and it was then I had my greatest epiphany. Zeus was always ready to stock the human race with his spawn, as if it were his own personal army; I noticed this, and came up with a plan. When Zeus felt the need to create demigods, I began to approach him, and told him of the maids and maidens throughout Greece that needed his attention. Zeus was pleased, and he came to me often when in need of a mortal mistress, and I would light his path for him. As for you, I came across the beautiful Cynisca of Sparta, wed to the one of the deadliest and most skilled Spartan warriors Leonidas had in his arsenal, Isagoras, both ready and eager for their wedding night. Upon seeing Cynisca's beauty, I knew I could not keep her from Zeus without severe pain and punishment, so I wasted no time reporting to Zeus. Disguised as a warrior centaur, which Cynisca attributed to the wine, Zeus seduced her on her wedding night, and conceived you. While you were in the womb, I couldn't resist, and visited her in a dream, convincing her to name you Kratos. Thinking you were his own, Isagoras raised you to be the mightiest Spartan of all time, and he succeeded. He thought the credit was all his, but it was mostly mine; you are one of my greatest accomplishments Kratos!"

This new knowledge filled Kratos with rage and resentment.

"So you eked out a living, being the pimp for Zeus!" declared Kratos. "Now, you disrespect my mother, and the man I called father, Isagoras, NOT Zeus! I shall tear your entrails to all corners of Greece for all eternity!"

With this statement, Kratos launched an Athena's Wrath with the Blades of Chaos, catapulting Cratus into the air with a powerful explosion, then soared with the Wings of Icarus to perform a double set of combo maneuvers; the Spirit of Hercules, and the Valor of Hercules, both of which delivered a series of devastating blows which allowed Kratos to literally beat Cratus into the ground, Cratus' impact leaving an indentation.

"You poor, pathetic excuse for a god!" said Kratos with a sneer. "Hercules was far more powerful than you will ever be, and you could never best him, not even in his dead state! I killed him, my brother, whom I loved, and I will annihilate you! You will never even be close to a whisper of a memory that Hercules now is!"

Kratos raised both blades to deal devastating damage to Cratus, but Cratus was ready, glowing bright orange and sending Kratos soaring backwards due to a blast of astrological energy, which held Kratos like a tractor beam, only held him back instead of holding him forward. Concentrating his power, Cratus slammed Kratos on the ground at several angles while trapped in the beam, battering his immortal body with a beating no mortal man, no matter how strong, could survive and live. Then, Cratus sent immense heat to the tractor beam, causing Kratos to growl out in agony, feeling his body boil.

"Hercules is not even in the same class of gods as I am!" laughed Cratus. "Like you, he was a mere mortal who won the favor of the gods! I am a child of Titan AND a god! I am unstopabble!"

Despite the pain, Kratos managed to sling one of the Blades of Chaos forward, which connected with the uppermost mark on Cratus' head, which was left by the stars that formed him. Upon this connection, Cratus cried out in pain, and immediately lost his hold on Kratos, dropping him to the ground. Upon impact to the ground, Kratos got up, and proceeded to continue the fight. Kratos looked at the spot which connected with his blade, and saw nothing but a smoking, black hole, where the mark once was on Cratus' head.

"You're not as strong as you would have me think!" laughed Kratos. "Prepare for your end!"

Kratos focused his attacks with almost surgical precision, keeping the star marks on Cratus' body as his targets. Kratos quickly unleashed a Rampage of the Furies blade strike combination, aiming for the two marks on Cratus' head, brutally and relentlessly slashing towards the marks. Having anticipated this, Cratus was able to block most of the strikes towards his head, however upon blocking the final blow from the left Blade of Chaos, the right Blade of Chaos came forward at an arc, and managed to snuff out the mark nearest to the bridge of Cratus' nose. Recoiling and holding his face in pain, Cratus' next move caught Kratos by surprise.

Upon releasing his hands from his face, Cratus soared backwards, straight up into the air, his belly facing the ground and back facing the sky, and was out of Kratos' sight. Just as Kratos lost sight of Cratus, Cratus sailed back down to the ground almost as instantly as he rose from it initially, his fists bearing down. The fists struck Kratos hard on the shoulders, and Cratus pounded both fists like pistons in a great machine, pressing Kratos into the soil. When the fist pounding subsided, Cratus did a forward flip, and drove both feet into Kratos' abdomen, kicking him so hard that a mortal would have vomited blood, then following up with two sucker punches to Kratos' face.

Taking the pain like any other damage from battle, Kratos endured this brutal counter-attack, and performed one of his own. Even though his arms were halfway under the earth, he could still use the Blades of Chaos, and both of them rose with a great burst from the earth, freeing Kratos from his temporary prison, and then launching Cratus into the air. Using the Olympic Ascension maneuver, Kratos launched himself into the air after Cratus, and grasping both Blades of Chaos, drove the blades into Cratus' feet, snuffing out both star marks on each foot, then propelled himself forward to eliminate the marks on Cratus' hands with the Blades.

Cratus howled out in agony, and the holes which were left by Kratos smoked even more intensely than before. Knowing he had to move quickly, Cratus, tried to use his claws to rake Kratos' belly deeply, but was too late, for Kratos jumped straight in the air and drove his feet down upon Cratus' rib cage, bringing them both plummeting back to earth, and Cratus' impact left an indentation of his body behind him.

"Pretender god of strength, you'll now be nothing more than immortal compost!" spat Kratos, stepping off of Cratus' body. "Up!"

Cratus jumped to his feet, and extended both his arms forward; within the palms of his hands, orange energy began to manifest, and took the shape of a sphere with protruding spikes. Cratus began to fire them in Kratos' direction, one after another, some of which stuck to Kratos' skin, and the rest Kratos was able to block. Kratos had a spike ball lodged in his right thigh, and left forearm once the assault was over, and those limbs went limp, as the spike ball depleted Kratos of strength in the areas they touched. With Kratos' defenses down, Cratus hurled two more spike balls, each hitting their intended target; Kratos' right arm and left leg.

The God of War fell to his knees, the strength having left all the limbs in his body. Cratus approached, and his hands grew to an enormous size, both big enough to hold Kratos in their grasp from the collarbone down to the ankles, which is what Cratus did. Kratos firmly in his grasp, Cratus squeezed, hearing Kratos' bones crunch under his grip.

"Such a pity!" said Cratus. "Not even close to claiming my namesake! Now I will crush you like a worm!"

What Cratus didn't count on, however, was Kratos' defenses. Although his limbs were inoperable at the moment, Kratos concentrated all his willpower and mental energy on the Golden Fleece. The harder Cratus squeezed, the harder Kratos concentrated, and soon enough, Cratus' hands were blasted open by a burst of reflective energy from the fleece, and in the blast, the spike balls were dislodged from Kratos' limbs.

Eager to finish off Cratus, Kratos charged using the Boots of Hermes, and slammed into Cratus with a mighty boom. As Cratus was knocked back, Kratos drove one of the Blades of Chaos into the star mark on Cratus' chest, and the other into the last one remaining on his forehead. Cratus wailed out in pain, and began bleeding from all holes where star marks once were. Having lost the source of his power, Cratus reeled in weakness, in which Kratos saw his opportunity.

"Now I end you!" said Kratos. "Whenever you end up, I hope my brother Hercules meets you, and shows you who the TRUE God of Strength is for all eternity!"

Without hesitation, Kratos executed the Spirit of Hercules combination, delivering a volley of slow yet multiple stabs and slashes with the blades, finishing Cratus by throwing him to the air, and creating an explosion of flesh, innard and bone particles with the blades' final assault. What was left of Cratus fell and littered the ground in a shower of gore, the main portion gathered near the body of Athena.

"Another fool vanquished!" said Kratos, then turning to the sky. "How many more of these pathetic whelps must I slaughter before I'm given passage?!"

"Why don't you begin with me?!" said a booming, deep, rumbling voice, seeming to come from underneath the ground.

Kratos paused as the earth began to shake, and noticed massive iron spikes begin to emerge from the ground. Kratos dodged them, avoided getting impaled, and rolled back far enough once he had an idea of where the source of the voice was emerging.

Out of the ground, the spikes rose, and it soon became clear that they were attached to an enormous being. Once fully emerged, the being stood easily at 400 feet tall, and its body was covered from head to toe with the spikes. Its body was a rocky orange color, and seemed a combination of stone and earth-like in appearance. The creature had large, glaring red eyes, a moss-like beard, and an enormous mouth of razor-sharp teeth. The giant looked down, pointing a massive talon at Kratos.

"My son's death shall be avenged!" boomed the creature.

Kratos simply looked up and coldly acknowledged the beast, knowing full well who he was now.

"Pallas." said Kratos.

(Check out artwork from this story on deviantart under RealPMP's account)


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

"Yes, it is I!" boomed Pallas.

"I should have known the stench!" sneered Kratos. "The stench of the father is not that far behind that of the whelp!"

"Bold words, for a god about to meet eternal death!" said Pallas.

"Death, pah!" spat Kratos. "I've conquered the Underworld time and time again! Tartarus has no power over me!"

"We'll soon see about that." said Pallas. "For I am not Tartarus!"

With a mighty stomp, Pallas unhinged the ground from beneath the earth, causing Kratos to fly into the air. Fortunately, Kratos was able to glide back down due to Icarus' wings. For the next volley of attacks however, Kratos quickly realized he would need more than just wings.

Pallas opened his mouth, and a deep, trumpeting sound emerged from it. Almost as soon as it had opened, Pallas' mouth brought forth a large, black, smoke-like fog, which engulfed Kratos and the ground around him. Keeping on his guard, Kratos soon found he was being pursued from all directions. The smoky black fog began to take the shape of warrior, with weapons, who clashed with Kratos, and Kratos' blades had no effect other than to stop attacks from connecting, and to make the smoke warriors dissipate eventually. Kratos swung his blades far and wide, trying to make as many smoke warriors disappear as he could, and like the Hydra, it seemed the more he vaporized, the more seemed to come after him.

Eventually, Kratos began to take damage from the soldiers, and knew this present strategy of attacks was not going to hold out long-term. Thinking quickly, he grabbed the Head of Helios, and shined a blinding bright ray through the nearest phalanx of smoke warriors. They burned away in an instant, and Kratos moved his arm around the fog, banishing away the darkness with Helios' light, until the fog was no more. Seizing his opportunity, Kratos saw one of Pallas' mighty legs, and attempted to execute a Hyperion Might move with his blades, swinging them into a great arc, hoping to tear apart the Titan's leg. Much to Kratos' dismay however, all that was met with was a great clang and a clash of sparks, sending Kratos' blades straight back to him. Pallas roared in laughter at Kratos' attempt to harm him.

"Copper skin." ruttered Kratos. "I should have known!"

"You are right, Ghost of Sparta!" laughed Pallas. "It will take more than that feeble attempt to harm me! Ironically, it would only take my most feeble attempt to harm you!"

Pallas beat his breast, and all the great spikes throughout his body retracted into him and disappeared. Then, Pallas, drove a mighty fist down below the earth, and spikes began to emerge underneath Kratos' feet. Kratos was skewered slightly in the left hock, but was able to break free, and dodge the spikes as best he could, eventually rolling his way to facing Pallas, who responded with a mighty arm sweep of the ground to try and knock and crush Kratos, but Kratos managed to dodge. As Kratos dodged, he performed Apollo's Ascenscion, launching himself high into the air, and decided to go for the Titan's eyes. Using all the concentration within this realm that he could muster, Kratos summoned the Bow of Apollo, and began firing fiery arrows towards the Titan's eyes. The majority of them connected, which sent Pallas stumbling backwards, holding his face over his hands.

With the Titan stalled, Kratos decided to see the best way for penetrating Pallas' copper-laden skin. Using the Boots of Hermes, Kratos rushed at Pallas' leg, ramming it with his shoulder. As he expected, the recoil from the impact sent Kratos backwards, however he did succeed in causing a great "clang!", and Pallas' body vibrated, causing the Titan to become even more unsteady. Seizing the moment, Kratos used his chains to wrap around the Titan's legs, causing him to trip and fall backwards. Not wasting a moment, Kratos ran with the Boots of Hermes up to Pallas' face again, and began stabbing him repeatedly in the eyes.

Pallas, however, had a counter-move of his own. As he growled in pain as Kratos pierced his eyes with the blades, not hard enough to blind him but enough to cause damage and pain, Pallas came at Kratos with his left hand, and grasped him tightly. Opening his giant mouth, Pallas tossed Kratos within it, then shut it, letting Kratos fall down his massive esophagus.

Kratos planned his next move as he plummeted down Pallas' esophagus. He'd been in a similar situation before, when Kronos swallowed him in an attack, so Kratos was prepared for his next move. Using the Blades of Chaos, Kratos anchored them in the side of Pallas' esophagus, unsure of whether or not he would be able to feel any pain. Instead of trying to make his way back up however, he used the blades to slide down in a controlled manner.

"Now to the heart!" Kratos said to himself. "Just like Gaia, his Titan heart will be his undoing!"

Digging his blades into the Titan's inner flesh, Kratos climbed downward even further, with the intent of bursting through the esophagus and into the heart chamber. However, the esophageal lining was slick with more mucus than Kratos had anticipated, and he slid downward, further into Pallas' upper GI tract, and towards the stomach.

Lucky for Kratos, he was able to cast his chains towards the sky and anchor himself to prevent from plummeting into the monster's stomach. The stench was near unbearable, smelling of millions of soldiers sick with the plague, all vomiting at once into a same mass grave with rotting corpses of equal number. Kratos' face winced, as he bore the smell, and was about to climb back up the esophagus, until he noticed something different happen.

Always ready to bribe Charon if necessary, Kratos kept a small bag of coins with him on his person since becoming a god. They were a small assortment of gold, silver and copper, depending on how generous Kratos felt like being, or how badly he needed Charon's assistance. The bag slipped, and the coins fell below into the sea of stomach acid. Instead of just disappearing with a "plink", Kratos saw that they melted upon impact, the liquid metal swirling with the stomach acid, before finally becoming so convoluted with it that Kratos could no longer tell which was which.

"A caustic cesspool I find myself above!" said Kratos.

Almost as soon as he'd finished his statement, Kratos thought of a way to escape the Titan's belly, while defeating his foe at the same time.

"So this filth dissolves metal eh?!" said Kratos. "Then I have just the use for it!"

Kratos looked at the stomach lining of Pallas, and it was noticeably different from anything else he'd seen so far. It was pink-white in color, but shone like glass, and thick, dark green veins snakes around it, also as shiny.

Kratos blade-climbed as close as he could to the edge, but was just out of striking range of the blades, and could go no further without risk of falling to his death. Summoning a thunderbolt, Kratos cast the bolt at the stomach lining, which hit and caused visible damage to the lining, but not enough to be significant. On the exterior, Pallas grabbed his stomach, moaning in pain, which Kratos felt on the interior as well, along with his environment shaking and moving around him.

Kratos knew whatever attack he would do next, it would have to have as much power as possible, and create as many hits to that wall as possible. If only the Rage of Sparta were present, he may be able to brave the acid and tear the wall, but he had to think of something else. Something similar, something that could generate the power and hits he needed, without being disintegrated by the acid.

The idea came to Kratos, and he summoned forth his powers, hoping this would work. Concentrating while hanging on at the same time, he drew from the powers of Hades, calling forth darkness from the Underworld.

His first wave of dark energy, he summoned forth a phalanx of soldier souls, commanding them to attack the wall, which they did swiftly and mercilessly. The Titan's interior shook even more furiously, and the damage to the wall increased. Feeling the souls' energy start to expire as they attacked, Kratos sent forth another wave of soldiers, to reinforce the waning ones already fighting. Four waves later, there was significant damaged to the stomach wall, and Pallas rocked and shook violently, unable to control the destructive forces inside him.

Seeing the wall was at its weakest, Kratos drew forth the final bit of Hades' power that he had for the time being, until it could regenerate. Letting forth the remaining Underworld power, Kratos unleashed the soul of a mighty chimera, which roared and tore into action like the beast it used to be. With the creature's final swipe, the stomach lining burst into millions of tiny fragments, like a mirror being smashed into oblivion, revealing nothing but copper skin underneath, which is just what Kratos was counting on.

Shifting towards the weak spot, the stomach acid burned through the Titan's copper epidermis, creating a massive hole where Kratos could see the outside. Bellowing in agony, Pallas flailed around, eventually stooping over forward, and the acid continued to burn through his skin like molten gold. Seizing the opportunity, Kratos released the blades from the Titan, and sailed out through the hole using the Wings of Icarus, careful to say far above the acid falls.

Kratos flew at an angle to land, and saw Pallas trying to keep the acid from pouring forth, only to have his right hand disintegrated in the process. Performing what many would feel to be a suicide move, Kratos ran forth towards the acid falls from Pallas' stomach, and Kratos equipped the Golden Fleece right before impacting with the acid. Instead of disintegrating the Fleece like it did with Pallas' skin, it created a giant wave of deflection, and splashed acid up and forward, square into Pallas' face and head.

Quickly rolling out of the way to the left after the Fleece was unequipped, Kratos put himself underneath the foot of Pallas, another supposedly suicidal move. However, Pallas did exactly as Kratos predicted, and stomped the ground with a mighty foot. Only instead of crushing Kratos, Kratos zoomed out of the way with the Boots of Hermes, and then launched himself into the air as high as possible with Apollo's Ascension at the moment of impact, using the power from the stomp to propel him even higher than the blades would have allowed him. Once he'd reached the peak in the air, Kratos glided downward with the Wings of Icarus, and landed on Pallas' right shoulder.

The acid from Kratos' deflection had burned most of Pallas' facial features away, giving the appearance of a skeletal-like, decaying rock formation. Most importantly, splashes of acid had seeped through Pallas' cranium, exposing portions of his brain, which is exactly what Kratos was after.

Rushing at the nearest exposure point, Kratos thrust his blades into Pallas' brain repeatedly, tearing away bloody brain matter as he did so. Pallas tried to squash Kratos with his remaining hand, but by the time his hand connected with his shoulder, Kratos had already bore a hole big enough in the Titan's brain, to where Kratos could climb inside. Once tucked inside the hot, gooey matter, Kratos unleashed a vicious Cyclone of Chaos attack inside the Titan's head, swinging the blades wide and furiously, tearing Pallas' brain into small fleshy pieces, like chum upon the water. With a final bellow, the Titan's body stiffened, and fell forward, dead upon the ground. Emerging glorious, yet covered in gore, Kratos stepped out of one of the openings in Pallas' skull.

Pallas' body was not far from those of Athena's and Cratus'; another casualty in this battle of madness, Kratos thought to himself.

"Once again, Gods prevail over Titans!" shouted Kratos, raising a fist to the sky.

Feeling his being engulfed in green, blue, yellow and red orbs, not to mention his body now completely clean, Kratos readied his blade, preparing for the next battle.

"Not bad, for a god turned mortal." said a cackling voice, coming from the east.

"Yes, the Spartan shows promise brother." laughed a gruffer, hoarser voice from the west. "Let us see how he fares against two great forces at once!"

Kratos looked around, not seeing anything from either direction, then an enormous, cyclone-like fog surrounded him. The fog swirled for a bit, and then dissipated.

But Kratos was not alone, for both sides of him were flanked by two enormous monsters, almost as big as Pallas; to his right, a massive humanoid with a giant human skull in his greasy, mouse-brown hair, reptilian-like yellow eyes, long brass-like claws, a mouthful of large sharp teeth, the upper body of a Cro-Magnon-like human, and massive, green scaly legs, with brass-like talons. To his left, a Cro-Magnon/reptile humanoid of equal height, except his body was more muscular and bulkier, his reptilian eyes green with yellow irises, a giant beard covering an equally sharp-toothed mouth, laden with 2 tusk-like fangs, two rams-like horns protruding from either side of his head, and his reptilian legs were red in color.

"Giants!" said Kratos.

"Of course!" sneered the giant on the right. "You won't find us as easy to best as a weakling Titan!"

"You may have gotten this far, but you now meet your final death!" growled the giant on the left. "Enceladus and I will break you, tear you apart, and feast on your mangled body!"

"Don't forget Peloreus, extra suffering adds to the taste!" laughed Enceladus.

"Silence fools!" said Kratos. "Look on the Titan who has attempted to feast upon the God of War; a worse fate will become of you both! Enough of your words, I would see them put to action!"

"With pleasure Kratos!" replied Enceladus.

"TO BATTLE!" bellowed Peloreus.

(Check out artwork from this story on deviantart under RealPMP's account)


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"Yes, to battle!" replied Kratos.

As both giants advanced upon him, Kratos leapt forward in a flying leap, releasing his chains and delivering a mighty swipe with both blades. Once Kratos landed on the ground in front of him, he turned and looked at the giants, who both let out a roar during Kratos' leap.

"It seems this 'god turned mortal' has the first strike!" laughed Kratos.

Both giants looked down at their chests, and saw a deep slice, delivered by Kratos.

"A mere scratch, Son of Zeus!" hissed Enceladus. "You'll need to do much better than that to best one giant, let alone two! I'll make this quick!"

With the wave of his hands, Enceladus caused a massive two-handed bronze spear to materialize, and gripped it tightly, aiming it in Kratos' direction.

"Hope you brought your appetite Peloreus." said Enceladus. "Because there will be skewered meat tonight!"

Enceladus lunged forward, and thrust the spear in Kratos' direction. Anticipating the move, Kratos rolled backwards and out of the way, causing the spearhead to strike into the ground, unhinging and uprooting a great deal of soil and grass. Growling in frustration, Enceladus continued to try and gig Kratos, but Kratos was too agile for him.

With his last roll out of range of Enceladus' spear, Kratos saw a great shadow descend down upon him, and managed to barely miss being cleaved in two. A piece of Kratos' tunic was severed in the attempted attack, but Kratos managed to escape, and saw what had attempted to annihilate him. A massive, double-headed battleaxe, made of steel, with a bone handle. Wielding the axe was Peloreus.

"Stand still Spartan!" bellowed Peloreus. "You will digest better in pieces!"

The two giants relentlessly pursued Kratos with their weapons, and Kratos could not find time for a counter attack. One second, he would be dodging a spear thrust, and the next, a blow from a great axe. Each of them were coming at him at different directions, and their teamwork began to show some payoff. Kratos actually began to feel fatigue from all the dodging, and had to think of something; otherwise he knew he would eventually give out and become the giants' next meal.

"Is that the best you can do, Children of Gaea?!" remarked Kratos. "Pathetic! You're no more stronger than the day you emerged from the Earth Mother's dirt-ridden twat!"

"SILENCE!" bellowed Peloreus. "You will NEVER speak of our mother in that way!"

"Peloreus no!" said Enceladus.

As Kratos had anticipated, Peloreus lost all control and broke from the formula he and Enceladus had worked so well to accomplish. Breaking from the battle plan, Peloreus dropped his massive axe and began to strike his claws at the dirt, hoping to crush or uproot Kratos in the process. Seizing his opportunity, Kratos dodged and countered with a Hermes Rush, barreling into the side of Peloreus' left ankle, and slamming into it with a mighty force. Kratos could hear the bones crack under the impact, followed only by Peloreus' painful howl. Wasting no time, Kratos pummeled Peloreus' left leg with multiple, painful and powerful hits, executing a Rampage of the Furies maneuver, also increasing the despair in Peloreus' howl of pain.

"I will CRUSH you Spartan!" cried Peloreus.

Grasping his axe once again, Peloreus turned and attempted to cleave Kratos once more, only to have him evade once again.

As he anticipated, Enceladus was waiting for him with his spear, and drove it to try and skewer Kratos once again. Kratos was ready however, and used the Boots of Hermes to dash up the shaft of the massive spear, up to the giant's hand, where he performed a flying leap and drove his blades directly into Enceladus' forehead. Before withdrawing his blades, Kratos switched to the Nemesis Whip, and whipped Enceladus directly in the face, causing a massive shock which brought the giant stumbling backwards. Once Kratos released the whip, he glided down to the ground using the Wings of Icarus.

"Is this the best whelps the Earth Mother can produce?!" said Kratos with a laugh.

"Keep jesting, son of Zeus!" said Enceladus. "You forget the war between the gods and the giants!"

"Yes!" added Peloreus, limping slightly towards Kratos. "It took both gods and mortals to defeat us, both too weak to face us on their own!"

"And ironically, it takes two giants to try and defeat a mortal who has become a god." said Kratos. "Perhaps the two of you are too weak on your own to defeat me!"

"Lies!" shouted Peloreus.

"Yes, lies!" said Enceladus. "Either one of us could single-handedly reduce you to a splatter of blood upon Gaia's sacred skin!"

"And yet, together, you fail to even make me draw blood!" said Kratos. "Prove yourselves!"

Shoving Enceladus aside, Peloreus continued to limp towards Kratos.

"Let me kill him brother!" said Peloreus. "I may be injured, but I will still erase you from this world!"

"Come then, and let it be done!" replied Kratos.

Rushing forward despite the agony, Peloreus charged at Kratos, axe held in both hands, and brought down the axe in Kratos' direction. Ready for him, Kratos repelled the axe with the Golden Fleece as his defense, and followed up by unleashing the Rage of Poseidon, sending a massive shockwave towards Peloreus, surging through his body and bringing him to his knees.

Kratos prepared to follow up with another attack, but was knocked backwards by a mighty strike from Peloreus' fist, knocking him on his back.

"You and I, we lust for blood!" said Peloreus. "And so you shall have it!"

Opening his mouth, Peloreus spewed a massive stream of blood in Kratos' direction, covering him in it. Kratos simply shook himself off, thinking it a feeble attempt at an attack, until he felt the effects.

Kratos bellowed in pain as he felt every part of his skin that had been touched by the blood, begin to burn with searing pain. Kratos tried to walk towards Peloreus because of the pain, and managed, but it was evident that Peloreus' special attack was causing significant pain and damage to Kratos.

"You feel it Kratos?!" laughed Peloreus. "It's the boiling blood of millions of fallen soldiers! Feel how they rage!"

Peloreus grabbed Kratos in his giant hand, looking at him as he laughed.

"I expected more from the God of War!" laughed Peloreus. "But now, you are nothing more than my next meal!"

Opening his palm and freeing Kratos, Peloreus prepared to shove Kratos into his mouth, but suddenly felt a massive aching, and found blood falling from his lips.

Fighting through the pain, which was now near non-existent since the effects of the boiling blood were wearing off, Kratos swung the Blades of Chaos and knocked one of Peloreus' tusk-like fangs from his gums. In a shocked reaction, Peloreus dropped Kratos, who glided towards Peloreus' midsection and anchored himself into the giant's flesh with the Blades of Chaos. Peloreus bellowed in pain, trying to grab for Kratos, but Kratos had already worked his way towards Peloreus' back.

Not stopping until he had reached the spine, Kratos began to stab powerfully and rapidly with the Blades of Chaos, aiming at Peloreus' backbone. Frantically, Peloreus tried to knock Kratos off his back, but Kratos was just out of reach of Peloreus' massive hands. Within enough time, Kratos was able to have carved away enough flesh to expose one of Peloreus' vertebrae, and then using all his concentration, Kratos summoned the Barbarian Hammer.

Standing up tall, Kratos swung the hammer 5 times, each delivering a mighty blow to the giant's spinal cord, and Kratos continued to swing, until he heard the unmistakable sound of broken bone and cartilage. Peloreus' back arched at the break, blood and spinal fluid emerging from the severing point, and the giant fell back-first into the earth. Evading the area of impact, Kratos circled back around, and climbed atop the chest of the now-paralyzed giant Peloreus.

"You were wrong Peloreus." said Kratos. "I will crush YOU!"

With a mighty battle roar, Kratos raised the Barbarian Hammer high above his head, and became a blacksmith pounding at an anvil, delivering devastating hammer blows between Peloreus' eyes, until the front of the giants' skull was caved in almost completely. Despite the fact that they were bulging outward from the blunt-force trauma to the face, Kratos could see the light leave Peloreus' eyes, and collected the blood orbs, magic orbs and health orbs that resulted from his latest victory.

"Enceladus!" cried Kratos. "Your brother is dead! Now I come for your head!"

"Advance Kratos!" replied Enceladus. "Though you will not find me as easily defeated as my brother! You shall pay for his death!"

"Then come and collect payment!" replied Kratos.

"Oh, I shall Kratos!" replied Enceladus. "Prepare!"

Enceladus opened his mouth, and a swarm of black-winged Harpies emerged from it, each hell-bent on tearing Kratos to shreds. The swarm of Harpies surrounded him, and Kratos wasted no time, flying into a storm of blades and fists trying to defeat them. Kratos ripped wings from what seemed like thousands of Harpies, and slashed relentlessly as they surrounded him. As the flock began to thin, Kratos saw two massive hands part the swarm, and a massive set of jaws and sharp teeth heading towards him.

Rolling out of the way, Kratos avoided Enceladus' attempt to gobble him in one bite. In retaliation, Kratos send Enceladus staggering backwards by blinding him with the light from the Head of Helios.

"Nice try giant!" said Kratos. "It will take more than a simple pestilence to wear me down!"

Quicker than Kratos realized, Enceladus managed to knock him backward with a shockwave, as a result of a flying elbow brought down by the giant, intended to crush Kratos. Before he could fall however, Kratos anchored himself with his blades, flinging himself towards Enceladus, ready for the next attack.

Ready for him, Enceladus swiped at Kratos with his hands, hoping to shred him into several ragged pieces, and Kratos stepped back in time, but was not unscathed, and suffered slashes across his face and chest from the tip of the giant's claws. Kratos prepared to counterattack with his blades, but before he could, Enceladus' left hand swept forward, and grasped Kratos tightly. Closing a fist around him, Enceladus pounded his fist into the earth several times, hoping to crush Kratos to a pulp. After a few powerful blows into the ground, Enceladus raised his hand as high above his head as he could, hoping to crush Kratos into a mass of gory jelly and bones, when just as Enceladus' hand reached its peak point, he cried out in agony, feeling a sharp, searing pain in his palm. Feeling no choice but to open his palm, Enceladus saw Kratos, bloody yet still standing, holding the Spear of Destiny in his hands.

"You like to play with spears Enceladus." said Kratos. "So play with THIS one!"

Kratos twisted the spear around, causing more pain for Enceladus, who on instinct flung Kratos from his hand, the spear still embedded in his palm. Wincing in pain, Enceladus ripped the spear from his palm and tossed it away from him.

"Yes, and my spear will be your end!" growled Enceladus.

Grasping his own spear, Enceladus once again attempted to gig Kratos on the business end, which Kratos dodged, and once again rain up the shaft. Having good luck with the Nemesis Whip against the giants, Kratos decided to employ it once again, and began to deploy it towards Enceladus' forehead.

Anticipating Kratos' move, Enceladus moved his face, and the Nemesis Whip went straight into Enceladus' tear duct. Upon contact, the electrical charge which Kratos had intended strictly for Enceladus, was transferred to both of them, knocking them both on their backs.

Dusting himself off, Kratos jumped to his feet, as did Enceladus, both ready to finish the other one off.

"Clearly you are the smarter one!" said Kratos. "Perhaps I should have killed you first!"

"And that mistake, is what will seal your doom!" laughed Enceladus.

Raising his reptilian leg forward, Enceladus delivered a massive kick in Kratos' direction, almost catching Kratos off guard. Instead of the kick connecting, Kratos dodged, and drove one of the blades into Enceladus' foot, and hitching a ride. Once Enceladus brought his foot back down, Kratos rushed with the Boots of Hermes, driving the other blade into the other leg, and tying Enceladus' legs together with his chains. Inevitably tripping on the chains, Enceladus began to fall backwards. Kratos used the fall momentum to launch himself in the air, and with all his might, Kratos pulled his chains backwards.

Enceladus let out a howl from the bottom of his gut, as the pain was more than he head ever felt in his lifetime. For as Kratos pulled back his chains, the blades severed Enceladus' legs, mid-way at the calves, from his body, and blood poured like flash floods from Enceladus' femoral arteries. Falling backward, Enceladus panicked to upright himself, trying to stop the blood flow with his hands, but to no avail.

"You are dust, and that is how you will return to your bitch of an Earth Mother!" said Kratos.

Summoning massive energy, Kratos charged the Blades of Chaos with the Fire of Ares, and with a dash and leap forward, drove the blades into Enceladus' heart. Enceladus' body erupted in flames, and he flailed helplessly feeling his flesh disintegrate into ash. With a final blow, Kratos held the blades in his arms in an X formation, and slashed the giant's throat, watching him bleed to death and burn at the same time.

Within a moment, Enceladus was now the fifth in a number of bodies that lay at Kratos' feet. Blood, magic and health orbs emitted from Enceladus' body, healing and replenishing Kratos in every way.

Hearing what appeared to be the sound of a slow applause; Kratos looked around, anticipating his next foe.

"Well, come forward, whoever is next!" demanded Kratos. "The longer you wait, the more pain and suffering you will endure before I kill you!"

"Is that any way to talk to your mother?!" said an echoing female voice with a cackle.

The fog that surrounded Kratos upon the appearance of Enceladus and Peloreus appeared once more, although it did not last as long. Before him, stood the form of a woman, but she was clearly more than that.

The woman stood taller than Kratos by about 3 feet, with medium, flowing black hair, which rose above her head. Her skin was like the cosmos; a foggy, celestial shade, littered with star-like light. Her face was an even darker shade, and she had large, deep, gold-green pupil-less eyes, which seemed to bore through Kratos. Upon her hands, she had enormous brass claws, which looked as though they could shred any substance known to mortal or immortal.

"A Primordial." said Kratos. "You are not my mother!"

"Oh but I am, dear Kratos." said the woman, moving forward and caressing Kratos' chin with one of her talons. "I'm not as old as Polemos, but I am the mother of all you hold dear. The mother of all conflict, the catalyst for your beloved wars. Why, I created the greatest war in all of history!"

Knowing full well who this Primordial was that stood before him, Kratos uttered her name, and knew he would have to destroy her next.

"Eris." stated Kratos.

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	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Such a bright boy!" replied Eris in a coddling, condescending tone. "Yes, it is I, Eris, Primordial of Strife, favorite of Polemos, both my Uncle and Brother! Consider this an honor, no human or god has perished by my hands in eons!"

"We shall see." replied Kratos. "My legacy far overshadows yours, and the people of Sparta see you no more as a ghost, which you very much ARE!"

Kratos flung one of his blades forward, and struck Eris in the heart. Upon the blade's impact, Eris let out a bloodcurdling scream, so powerful that Kratos had to cover his own ears, and she burst into millions of crystalline, glass-like shards. Instead of falling straight to the ground, the shards were suspended in mid-air for a few moments, and the screaming stopped, at which point they did fall.

Kratos uncovered his ears, and looked down suspiciously at the shards that littered the ground. Something was indeed not right, as Kratos knew it would be much more difficult to defeat a Primordial than a simple blade thrust. Grasping his blades in his hands, he moved some of the shards with the tip of his boots, expecting Eris to re-materialize and attack him once again. The next moment that took place caught Kratos completely by surprise and unaware.

Just as Kratos stopped nudging the shards with his boot, they flew upward and lodged themselves into Kratos' eyes. Bellowing in pain, Kratos covered his face in his hands, could feel the blood dripping from his sockets into his hands, but everything was black, until a bright, purple light nearly made Kratos fall backwards.

Blinking his eyes, Kratos found himself in what appeared to be a different realm. Everything seemed to be made of purple-pink cosmic air, and bright stars, with a glassy surface covering everything. Stalactites and stalagmites of crystals of the same color littered the environment. All was not peaceful in this new realm however, as flaming stars shot across from all directions, crashing into one another. High above the cosmic scenery, in what Kratos could only think of as the "sky" of this world, Eris looked down on him, laughing.

"Oh Kratos you poor fool!" said Eris. "You cannot simply defeat me by a mere flurry of blows and kicks, and you'd have better luck doing damage to thin air!"

Kratos summoned the Bow of Apollo, and fired 4 arrows at Eris' massive face in the sky, and the arrows disappeared within her eyes. Kratos felt heat beneath his feet, then a sharp, burning stab in his thigh, and realized the arrows he fired were coming at him from the ground up. Rolling out of the way, Kratos was able to avoid the rest, and winced as he pulled the arrow that hit him out of his thigh. Before his eyes, a burst of flame came forth, and Eris stood before him once again.

"On your feet Spartan, and face me!" demanded Eris.

Jumping to his feet, Kratos charged his powers, and attempted to attack Eris using Cronos' Rage, sending forth a blast of powerful electrical energy her way. The energy connected full-on with Eris' body, however instead of harming her, Kratos felt the surge of electricity throughout his body. The shocks were so intense that it brought him back down to his knees. His body emitted smoke after the failed assault, and Eris grasped him by the throat, holding him in the air, as she grew bigger.

"You harm me, you harm yourself!" explained Eris. "War and Strife, we are connected, ergo, I am connected to you, the God of War! Had it not been for me, everything you see, would never have come to pass!"

"Nonsense!" said Kratos in a strained voice, trying to wriggle free of Eris' iron grip on his throat. "The great Primordial War created all, as the Primordials fell one by one, their bodies turning to earth, sky, water and all that we see, instead of decay!"

"And how do you think that war was STARTED?!" hissed Eris. "Polemos and I grew tired of our father Chaos simply allowing his children to be, exist without purpose. So one day, Polemos took me and cut me into a million tiny pieces, and those pieces settled into the bodies of the Primordials. My being caused dissent and mistrust among the Primordials, as I rattled inside the fibers of their existence. Then one night, Polemos crept into the head of Aether, the Primordial of Light, while he slept, and with Polemos' influence Aether beheaded Erebus, the Primordial of Darkness, shadowing the world with Erebus' corpse. Then, my mother Nyx sought revenge against Aether for her husband's death, and brought light to the world killing him. On and on, the Primordials fought and slew one another thanks to Polemos and myself, rising again amidst the reality and elements of reality you see here."

Releasing her grip slightly, Eris threw Kratos backward into one of the crystalline walls. Kratos got back up, and attempted to run towards Eris with the Boots of Hermes, but was stopped in place, as the floor began to upwardly crystalize his feet. Trying to free himself from the boots, Kratos struggled with all his might, but to no avail. Eris hovered towards him, standing about a foot away from him, looking at him with smug satisfaction.

"So the God of War is to be destroyed by his own divine ancestors." chuckled Eris. "Tsk tsk tsk, and here I thought about giving you a fighting chance, coming down to your level to fight. But you never earned it, your kind never will. However, I will give you one final attempt to attack me, just one, before I destroy you. Choose wisely."

Kratos glared defiantly at the Primordial, the toughest force he'd faced thus far amongst his adversaries in this realm. This entire experience had been nothing but Eris' own personal torture session, with Kratos as the victim, and Kratos thought of thousands of ways he could tear this Primordial apart. Yet with each thought, he knew it could not come to pass without it backfiring upon him, or Eris contorting the reality even further. Fresh out of options, Kratos silently made his decision.

"Time is up Kratos." said Eris. "I await your counterattack before I destroy you."

"So be it." said Kratos. "Be prepared for the Head of Euryale."

Summoning all his concentration, the head of the gorgon Euryale came forth in Kratos' right hand.

"The head of a gorgon?! said Eris. "You disappoint me Kratos." I expected much more from you as a final attack against me."

"It is not for you!" said Kratos.

Taking Euryale's head in both his hands, Kratos swiftly turned Euryale's head around to face him, and summoned her to open her eyes. Kratos looked deeply into the gorgon's eyes, and Kratos' eyes were turned to stone, but not the rest of his body.

Eris looked on, puzzled, and all of the sudden, the ground around her began to shake, and she saw her crystalline floor turn to stone, then spread to the walls, and then spread upon her body. Eris tried desperately to run and to stop the spread, but it was no use. She felt her legs solidify, causing her to fall to the ground. Then it spread up her waist, then torso, upper arms, and finally encompassed her head.

His eyes turned to stone, Kratos put Euryale's head away, and summoned the Nemean Cestus. With a mighty strike to his face, Kratos freed his eyes, and stone dust fell from them.

"Now you will feel the wrath of the God of War!" said Kratos.

With a mighty bellow, Kratos slammed the Nemean Cestus into the ground, and created the Nemean Roar, sending a powerful shockwave throughout Eris' reality. The stone cracked and shook, and boulders began to fall all around them. To hasten the process, Kratos executed the Triumphant Labor maneuver, and smashed at as many rock walls, surfaces and objects as he could. Feeling the ground cracking beneath him, Kratos soon began to fall, as all the broken rocks followed after him.

Kratos landed upon the grass of the previous battlefield, where he had been fighting the entire time, and the rock fell from the sky. Rolling several times out of the way, Kratos avoided being crushed among the rock and boulders. When the rocks stopped falling and the dirt finally settled, the rubble shook slightly, and from the wreckage emerged Eris, looking wobbly but still strong. Her eyes filled with anger and rage, she looked at Kratos, and her starlit body burned brightly with rage.

"Now have I earned it?" asked Kratos, his blades ready for action.

"Very well!" said Eris. "If it is battle and bloodlust you seek, then that you shall have!"

Firing towards him in a spiraling, corkscrew fashion, Eris attempted to strike Kratos in the chest, her long claws spinning like propeller blades. Kratos countered with a Hades Reverse, parrying the blow, and countered with the Spirit of Hercules attack, striking her with devastating blows and launching her into the air. Mid-air however, Eris extended her arms and anchored her claws into Kratos' chest, swinging back down and raking Kratos across the face with her free hand, knocking him to the ground. Eris attempted to spring towards him and slice him again, however Kratos deflected her with the Golden Fleece, and deeply cut into her divine flesh using the Hyperion Might maneuver, arcing his blades and sending her flying backwards. Kratos rushed forwards with the Boots of Hermes, to see her lying on the ground, and getting up slowly. Kratos summoned the Blade of Artemis, and looked as though he was going to use it to cut Eris down to size.

"I take back my disappointment in you Spartan." said Eris. "You are not just any common soldier. Now, I grow tired of humoring you, and shall attack you in my regular forms! Let us finish this battle once and for all!"

"No." said Kratos, driving the Blade of Artemis into the ground. "I end this conflict."

Stunned, Eris looked at him in disbelief.

"What?!" said Eris. "NO! You cannot! You must fight me until one of us is destroyed!"

"I will not." said Kratos. "I hold the upper hand, and end this battle, claiming myself as the victor."

"You will NEVER be the victor!" snarled Eris. "Not if I kill you!"

Kratos stood silently, and Eris rushed at him, her claws slashing at him violently. Yet, when she struck Kratos, her arms went right through him, as if he were a ghost. Enraged, Eris turned herself into a giant of massive size, far bigger than Pallas, Enceladus or Peloreus, and brought down a giant foot upon Kratos, intending on stomping him into the ground. Yet, when she lifted her foot, Kratos stood standing, within the massive crater of the footprint, as if nothing had happened.

Returning to regular size, Eris raised her hands to the sky and the clouds began to rumble and crack with thunder. Fiery raindrops fell from the sky, scorching the ground below, and still, passed right through Kratos. They did not, however, pass through Eris, and screeched as they burned her cosmic skin. Immediately ceasing the attack, Eris continued to slash desperately at Kratos, nothing connecting.

"I don't understand!" shrieked Eris. "What is this trickery?!"

"You're right Eris." said Kratos. "You are the mother of everything I hold dear, in the realm of war, and I will not fight you. My cold, black heart deeply adores war, and you are part of it."

"What sort of cowardice IS this?!" cried Eris.

At the end of her statement, Kratos impaled her in the stomach with both blades, and drew her to him. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, and looked her deep in the eyes.

"It is not cowardice, its love." replied Kratos.

Before she could say another word, Kratos held her tighter, and kissed her deeply on the lips, with vigor and passion. Surprised, she returned the kiss, and soon began to convulse and her body surged with electrical-like, red energy.

"NOOOOO! NOT LOVE!" said Eris.

Feeling a deep, dull pain in her chest, Eris looked down, and saw that Kratos had plunged his hand deep in her chest cavity, which he then ripped away. Kratos held her heart to her face, and grinned darkly.

"Yes, love!" said Kratos. "What love I have for you exists in my deeply passionate love for war and bloodlust, one of the greatest loves of my life! It was my key to getting close to you, the faint connection you and the rest of my adversaries thus far have, and the key to you letting your guard down! I love it so much, there's no room for both of us to love it, which is why you will perish!"

Throwing Eris' heart on the ground, Kratos stomped it mightily with his foot, creating a shockwave throughout the land that unhinged the earth beneath him, and caused Eris' body to burst into a bloody pool of cosmic blood, bone and tissue. The green, red, blue and golden orbs surged within Kratos' body from the gushy mess that was once Eris, as well as Eris' divine life force that commanded all strife.

"Thank you for the inheritance, Primordial failure!" said Kratos to the puddle.

The skies settled, just as they did with every previous battle, and Kratos sat among the fallen bodies, awaiting his next challenge.

"There's no time to sit on your ass, God of War." said a male voice. "You've yet to face me!"

The dark clouds that brought his previous 3 foes surrounded Kratos yet again, causing him to stand up abruptly, and he turned around and saw his foe once the storm clouds cleared.

"The time of the gods is at an end!" said the foe. "I've conquered much without your help, or the help of any other gods or goddesses, and your death will prove you've outlived your usefulness and purpose!"

The warrior was, simply, a human being. He was not as tall as Kratos, but muscularly built, and well-armed. He wore a bronze cuirass, with a blue metal armor sash riddled with sharp spikes, small bronze gauntlets, and bronze vanbraces to cover his boots. His skin was light-colored, similar to many inhabitants of the regions of Greece more inland, and had light brown hair.

But what Kratos noticed most about him, were his eyes; he had none.

The empty eye sockets of the soldier dripped continuously with blood, yet the warrior could see Kratos as plainly as Kratos could see him.

"You!" said Kratos. "The Disgrace of all Thebes, come to challenge the God of War!"

Angrily, the soldier drew his sword.

"Quiet your tongue, false idol!" replied the soldier. "Your time is at an end, and the time of Oedipus the King, has dawned! You will bow to me before this battle is through!"

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	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

"I bow to no one, Thebian, mortal or immortal!" snarled Kratos, spitting on the ground in front of Oedipus. "And given your own mortal state, I will snuff out your life very quickly!"

"Mortality will be YOUR undoing, filthy god!" said Oedipus. "I may be mortal, but my triumph has given me power beyond measure, greater than yours!"

"You amuse me with your delusions, Oedipus Rex." said Kratos. "Look around you, the ground is littered with the corpses of those far better than you will ever be!"

"There are no delusions about it!" snapped Oedipus. "My triumph over the Sphinx yielded powers and wisdom beyond anything you could ever strike me down with! If I'm such a weak mortal as you say I am, come and end me in one stroke!"

"The wish of a fool!" said Kratos. "One which I will graciously grant!"

Raising his blades, Kratos unleashed his chains and swung the Blades of Chaos behind him, crossing his arms as he did, then swung them back in Oedipus' direction, with the intent of slicing him into two or 3 pieces with a swift hit from the blades. Anticipating a move like this however, Oedipus rolled forward, driving his sword into Kratos' left bicep. Kratos growled out in pain, and sent Oedipus flying backward with a powerful kick to the face.

"Is that the best you can do?!" said Kratos. "You missed, my head is atop my shoulders!"

"It was not your head I was aiming for, ignorant deity!" said Oedipus.

"Enough of this nonsense!" said Kratos. "I have let you live far too long as it is! Farewell, King of Thebes!"

Kratos geared up to rush forward with a Cyclone of Fury, but could not gain the effect he desired. His right arm delivered a powerful enough swing of the blades, but Kratos had trouble lifting his blade and chains with his left arm, resulting in a less powerful, "half-cyclone", which Oedipus quickly dodged.

"What's the matter Kratos?!" taunted Oedipus. "I expected more from the God of War."

Kratos looked down at his left arm, and saw it had changed dramatically; his muscles were smaller, his skin looser and sagging slightly, which was also covered in wrinkles. The wound where Oedipus had driven his sword into Kratos' bicep glowed an icy, crystal blue, and pulsed slightly.

"A mere sorcerer's trick!" said Kratos, shrugging it off. "This will pass, and it will not stop me from tearing you to pieces!"

"No sorcery Kratos, it's a spoil of war." replied Oedipus, laughing. "When I defeated Ainigma, the Sphinx that terrorized Thebes, all on my own without the help of the gods, I won great power from her!"

Oedipus held out his sword to give Kratos a closer look. The sword was long-bladed, and emitted fiery energy from the blade, the same shade of blue as the wound which Kratos had upon his bicep. The handle of the sword was bone-like in color, with what appeared to be sharp teeth on the hilt.

"This is Apokryfos, my greatest weapon!" explained Oedipus. "I forged a steel blade, and molded the sword from the bones and teeth of Ainigma, and cooled the steel blade in her poisonous, boiling blood instead of water. Her blood fused with the steel, and allowed me to wield all the power she carried with her in her life. This not only has the power to strike down gods and goddesses with devastating force, but infect them with her venom, and allows me to command the venom how I wish, such as with your arm!"

Kratos tried to swing his arm yet again, but had no such luck.

"Now you'll know what it's like to feel mortal." said Oedipus. "The riddle of the sphinx, called for a single-voiced creature with four legs, then two legs, then three, which is indeed mortal men! We crawl as infants, stride on two legs from childhood to middle age, and hobble on those legs with a stick in our old age, which is what you are now experiencing. The venom will seep through your veins slowly, eventually taking you completely over, and you will be nothing more than a weak, feeble, old mortal man, ready to die like the rest of mankind!"

Grasping his sword in both hands, Oedipus swung backward in an arc, intent on cleaving Kratos right above the ribs, however, was knocked backwards with a mighty force so hard, it caused the back of his head to bleed.

His limp arm dangling, Kratos stood over Oedipus, the Nemean Cestus summoned as his weapon, and stared the mortal deep in the eyes as he lay on the ground.

"Not yet!" said Kratos defiantly.

Bending down, Kratos slammed the Nemean Cestus over and over into Oedipus' cuirass, causing a massive indentation in the soldier's armor, and enough pressure to cause internal bleeding. Rolling out of the way, Oedipus stood up, coughing up blood, and wriggled out of his cuirass. Free from his own armor, Oedipus could now breathe easier, and his ribs and lungs would not be crushed by the trauma.

"Very well then!" sputtered Oedipus. "You are resilient, yet so am I!"

Kratos walked slowly towards him, and his useless arm held limp at his side now. Oedipus rushed him, and the two clashed blades. Despite the loss of the use of his left arm, Kratos did an excellent job of jabbing and parrying Oedipus' moves. The two continued on sparring blade against blade, neither gaining much ground.

"It's pointless to fight me Ghost of Sparta!" said Oedipus between clashes. "You only delay the inevitable."

"Then tell me, did YOU delay the inevitable?!" said Kratos.

"What is this nonsense you speak of?!" asked Oedipus.

"Oh, I think you know." said Kratos. "I don't care what the stories say about you being tricked by the Oracle, I think you wanted Jocasta from day one, your day one!"

"Careful with your words Kratos, for they may be the last you utter!" Oedipus spat.

"I'm only pointing out the truth!" taunted Kratos. "Tell me, did her mossy twat taste as good in your bedroom, as it did when you emerged from it?! Did your children emerge as savage Cyclopes?! Did your mother tell you a story before letting you bury your cock inside her?!"

"Kratos, I'm warning you!" said Oedipus angrily.

"And I'm telling you, Oedipus Rex, Oedipus Princeps!" replied Kratos. "After I kill you, I will burn all of Thebes to save it from its shame! You truly are, one who has earned the title….of mother, fucker!"

"ENOUGGGHHHH!" bellowed Oedipus in a rage.

In his fury, Oedipus rushed at Kratos with a flurry of blind swipes, his rage blinding him from his strategy, allowing Kratos to dodge, and slice off one of Oedipus' arms. Oedipus cried out in pain, but still gripped his sword in his remaining arm. Using the flames from the blade, he cauterized his wound, bellowing at the pain, and then stood to face Kratos yet again.

"Now this levels the battlefield!" said Kratos. "Two arms, two warriors! Come and face me!"

The sword-clashing resumed, each opponent fighting against the other with as much brutality in their slashes as they could muster. In a trick maneuver, Kratos managed to trip Oedipus, knocking him to the ground. Kratos brought down his blade in his good hand, but was stopped by Oedipus' blade. The two locked blades against each other, each trying to get the upper hand.

"I will end you, God of War!" said Oedipus, getting up from the ground and facing Kratos on his feet, blades still locked. "All my life, everything I have done, it was all me! I have NEVER believed in the gods or goddesses, I only believe in mankind! Any lip service paid to the gods was simply a courtesy to my people; alas, they cannot bear the thought of you being false! Never in my life have the gods or goddesses ever been there for me, nor would I have them there! All my accomplishments are all mine, and by destroying you, it will be paramount to the final victory of man over god! I never have, and never will, pray or bow before any of the gods, EVER!"

Kratos held Oedipus at bay, but could feel the venom spread within his grip slipping, Oedipus took his chance and parried Kratos, driving his blade into Kratos' abdomen. Kratos felt his body become weaker, frailer, and fell to the ground after Oedipus released his blade from Kratos' body.

"You see God of War, you are weak!" said Oedipus. "Mankind is strong! Much stronger than you, and will be even more stronger without you!"

Oedipus raised his blade high into the sky, and brought it down, ready to behead the God of War and keep his head as a trophy. When all of the sudden, Oedipus felt himself stopped, and a cold sensation spread from the bottom of his toes, up through his body.

"What's happening?!" exclaimed Oedipus.

Once the elderly Kratos' hands hit the ground, he summoned what little energy he could, and brought forth a blast of the Ice of Poseidon, freezing Oedipus in his place. Oedipus found himself frozen up to his neck, and struggled to move, but could not.

"Release me Kratos, NOW!" demanded Oedipus. "I have defeated you, you must do as I command!"

The feeble Kratos stood up, holding his old arms up into the air, summoning what further energy he could for either a death blow, or a last stand.

"Nonsense." said Kratos in a croaky voice. "I have not yet fallen to my death."

Within Kratos' hands, a massive and ancient sword, the Blade of Judgment, was within Kratos' hands. Kratos grasped the handle of the blade, for it to fall due to his lack of strength, but still he looked at Oedipus with malice in his eyes.

"You may not believe." managed Kratos in his feeble voice. "But you will…face…judgment."

Summoning every bit of physical strength Kratos had, Kratos raised the Blade of Judgment back in a mighty backward arc, and with deep war-like bellow, brought the blade crashing down upon the frozen Oedipus. With a painful wail, Oedipus felt as his body was cleaved in two, and frozen pieces of his flesh and innards broke apart upon the impact, flying in different directions. The lifeless upper torso of Oedipus fell to the ground, as did Kratos, his strength depleted, holding the Blade of Justice in his weak hands.

Kratos lie upon the ground, expecting the venom to kill him of old age, but at least he had destroyed Oedipus in the process. Instead of dying however, Kratos felt himself rejuvenated, as green, blue, red and yellow orbs were drawn as if from a tractor beam to his body. Feeling his strength return, Kratos slowly stood up, and within seconds, found that he was returned to his former state, before the venom.

Kratos looked around him, the ground littered with the bodies of the fallen. He readied his blade for the next adversary, and was taken by surprise by what sounded like a and flutter of mighty wings.

There were no clouds this time, only shadows covering the entire land, and from the shadows, emerged a form, which hovered over the collection of bodies. The shadows then began to shrink, and seemed to swirl around and enter the being responsible for the wings.

Kratos did not recognize this foe. It was a large, night-colored wraith-like creature, with what appeared to be 5 horns upon its head, sinister red eyes, and a mouthful of sharp, flesh-ripping teeth. Kratos looked upon it further, and saw the being had human-like skeleton hands. Though unafraid, Kratos did feel an icy coldness creep through his body, and had a feeling this creature inspired terror in many.

This creature didn't even acknowledge Kratos, and seemed to hover over the bodies of Kratos' enemies. Not knowing why he was being ignored, and not caring, nor caring that Kratos did not recognize this creature, Kratos decided to get started, and make the first strike.

Using the Orion's Harpoon maneuver, Kratos extended one of his blades out to impale and bring the creature to him. Yet, when the Blade of Chaos touched the creature's back, it bounced off harmlessly, returning itself to Kratos. Turning around, the creature hissed at Kratos, in a hiss that seemed more like annoyance than rage.

"OSTANOVIT'!" hissed the creature. "Ya ne vash örsöldögch bi bish ee!"

A confused look on his face, Kratos was simply puzzled at what just took place.

"What do you mean creature?!" demanded Kratos. "Speak in my tongue!"

The creature continued to ignore Kratos, and hovered over the bodies. A green-violet light emerged from the creatures mouth, which fell to the ground as if it were dripping like blood, and crept over the bodies, until all the corpses were completely covered in the substance. Raising its arms, the creature began to hover backwards, its eyes glowing redder than ever, and the bodies melded into a shadow-like puddle. Then, the puddle began to separate into tiny, snowflake-like pieces, which flew upward and into the creature's mouth, slowly at first, but then in a flurry like a swarm of moths to flame. Along with the green-violet "snowflakes" silver orbs followed, also emerging from the puddle. The ground and air shook as this took place, and after a moment, the puddle was gone, and the creature de-materialized like smoke.

"He's not one you will be fighting Kratos." said Polemos' voice, echoing throughout the environment. "That is my servant, I call him Gatherer. He returns the essence and power of the fallen back to me."

"Fine, I care not!" said Kratos. "What will you have me do now?! How many must I kill to be free of this?!"

"As many as it takes Kratos." replied Polemos. "You have conquered the contenders to your homeland, and thus have conquered this Sepulcher."

Kratos looked at the ground, and saw all that was left from where the bodies had gathered, was Oedipus' sword.

"Apokryfos is yours now Kratos, like many of the weapon spoils you've added to your army through the years." said Kratos. "Take it, for you have earned it fairly."

Kratos picked up the sword, and threw it to the sky, closing his eyes and concentrating it to find its way to the void containing his powers and weaponry, which he seemed to draw upon in this realm. Opening his eyes, Kratos saw the sword was gone, and felt it was where it needed to be.

"It is with your power source, as are the rest of your weapons and items." said Polemos. "You may draw upon them limitedly at will."

"Very well Polemos!" said Kratos. "Now, are you ready to face me, or shall I butcher my way through all of Greece?!"

"No Kratos." said Polemos. "If you survive, I will meet you on the battlefield in Sparta. But until then, you must earn your fight with me. I swear this all upon the River Styx, the more you succeed, the more powerful you become, and there is much to be discovered in the House of War; even a way back to the ones you love the most."

Kratos paused, taken aback by this statement. In any other case, Kratos would think this a ruse to keep him going, but it was sworn upon the River Styx, the most powerful oath that no being is able to break, not even Kratos.

"Lysandra? Calliope?" said Kratos, stunned. "Pandora?"

"Go Kratos." said Polemos. "Through the next opening, you will face a new foe in the Second Sepulcher, and then shall begin your odyssey to supremacy, and the final battle with me. To get to the strongest of the strong, sometimes you must face the weakest of the weak."

The ground shook around Kratos, and instead of the familiar Greek landscape, Kratos found himself as he originally had been in the House of War, surrounded by walls of blood and floors of weapons beneath his feet.

As the environment continued to shake, the blood on one of the walls began to part, revealing a stone opening from behind it, dark with light at the end. Knowing what to do, Kratos walked through the entrance, the blood sealing the way behind him, and followed the tunnel until he reached the end.

Kratos found himself surrounded by sand, and an ocean ahead of him. Though there was sea breeze, the ground beneath him was clearly desert, his feet hot from the sun-charged sand.

Walking to the edge of the water, Kratos stood battle-ready, both blades drawn, the desert to his front and the sea at his back. He did not know what was about to confront him, but whatever it was, Kratos intended on annihilating it.

"Show yourself." said Kratos quietly.

(Check out artwork from this story on deviantart under RealPMP's account)


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

"SíHāṁ Kratos!" said an echoic, androgynous voice, which seemed to have both male and female echoes. "Mirameujha para dēkhō!"

"MORE gibberish?!" stated Kratos angrily. "If you cannot speak Greek, then I will beat the Greek out of you!"

As Kratos said this, a figure rose from the hot sands beneath his feet, and was unclear to his eyes, until the sand fell from the creature, revealing its true form.

The creature was unlike anything Kratos had seen before in his encounters with various exotic and mythical creatures of Greece. The creature stood his height, but was green in skin color, and had 4 arms and 2 legs. What appeared most remarkable about it, was its dualistic androgyny; the right half of the creature appeared to be male, and contained scale-like plumes coming out the back of its head, horns coming from its scalp, vein-like war paint, a long spearhead-like piercing emerging from its nostril, and a reptilian-like demon face, a deep yellow eye without a pupil, with a mouthful of long, razor sharp teeth. The other side, while also green in skin and containing a pupil-less yellow eye, appeared to be female. It contained a crown-like tiara upon its head, blue-studded earrings, its face smeared with magenta makeup, and a periwinkle, ornate shawl covering its female breast. Even the loinpiece seemed dual-sexed; on the male's side, it appeared as a colorful hand-made loincloth, while on the female's side, it was a lotus-like skirt, and the female side's hands and legs were covered in bracelets.

"¡Namastēhola Kratos, bienvenido Mŏriṭāniyā mēṁ āpakā svāgata hai!" said the creature. "Yes, I can speak Greek, but I prefer my native tongues over all else."

"Tongues, as in more than one?!" said Kratos, slightly puzzled. "Who ARE you, abomination?!"

"We are many!" explained the creature. "But there are 2 who dominate; to the west, in Cozumel, I am half known as Al-Hulneb. To the east, in Bengal, I am half known as Durga. But together, with the rest of us, here on Mauritania, I am Durgahulneb!"

"The rest of you?" asked Kratos.

"All the weaker gods and goddesses of war, we have absorbed them all." continued Durgahulneb. "If you are to face the rest of the world, you must first prove you can fight against the weakest of the weak, which is I. Then and only then, are you worthy to continue."

"Weakest of the weak, or strongest of the strong, I will rend your body into chum for the fish in that sea!" said Kratos, pointing to the beach, then readying his blades for battle. "Let us begin!"

"As you wish!" replied Durgahulneb.

Durgahulneb outstretched its 4 arms, opened its palms, and in each hand a bizarre-looking weapon appeared. It looked like half of a spear, but mounted on a handle, with serrated points for a blade, and appeared to be made of black obsidian. Durgahulneb raised them in a defensive stance, protecting its face and upper body, and proceeded to battle Kratos.

Kratos began with the Bravery of Hercules maneuver, deploying his chains and bringing down the blades upon Durgahulneb, but Durgahulneb was ready, and stopped the blades with 3 of the 4 weapons in its hands. With its free hand, Durgahulneb threw one of them straightforward at Kratos.

"Feel the fury of the Chakramaquahuitl!" exclaimed Durgahulneb.

The attack was a success, as the flying Chakramaquahuitl sailed forward, and buried itself in Kratos' left shoulder. Kratos growled out in pain, pulling the strange throwing blade from his shoulder, and threw it back at Durgahulneb. It was thrown with such force, that it hit Durgahulneb in its free arm, and severed the arm at the elbow joint. Durgahulneb wailed in agony as the attack connected.

"Not even a full attack in, and already you've lost a limb?!" said Kratos, somewhat disappointed. "I thought you would be a worthy opponent."

From its mouth, Durgahulneb breathed a stream of fire, and cauterized the wound on its missing stump, stopping the bleeding and allowing it to focus.

"Need I remind you Kratos, I am still standing." said Durgahulneb.

"Not for very long!" replied Kratos.

The creature breathed fire in Kratos' direction, but Kratos was able to effectively dodge the counter-attack. More Chakramaquahuitls sailed in his direction, and instead of merely dodging them, Kratos deployed his blades, and used them to reverse the momentum of the blades, and they sailed back towards the owner. Not expecting this counter-attack, Durgahulneb was caught by surprise, and two of the Chakramaquahuitls severed the head of Durgahulneb, and the other split the body in half, right down the middle.

Kratos looked on in both shock, and disgust. The battle was over hardly before it even began, and he was disappointed there was not more action.

"Are you SERIOUS?!" cried out Kratos to the sky. "This was a WASTE of TIME! I need worthy opponents!"

Kratos left the halved, headless body of Durgahulneb upon the hot sands. Gatherer, the wraith creature that had appeared when Kratos conquered the first sepulcher, appeared once more, and performed his "cleanup" ritual of the body and souls of the departed. Kratos watched, and there appeared to be 2 large souls, and millions of tiny souls, absorbed by Gatherer. When Gatherer had finished, Kratos saw the 4 Chakramaquahuitls shining, just as Oedipus' sword had done before when he dispatched him.

"Another spoil of war." Kratos muttered to himself. "It could prove useful in battle nevertheless."

Picking up the 4 black glass throwing blades, Kratos threw them into the air, and they assimilated into his armory.

"Now what Polemos?!" asked Kratos towards the sky. "This was simply a pathetic excuse for a battle! NOW what?!"

"You have conquered the second sepulcher, and will advance to the next step." replied Polemos. "Despite this, you've a LONG way to go before you face me. You forget, I am war itself, and not just to you. There is a greater world out there than you have ever known, and you must claim your title as God of War in every way before even coming close. It is a long, hard rod Kratos, but one of great reward should you succeed."

"ENOUGH with your cryptic words Polemos!" said Kratos. "What will it take to get to you?"

"Just what I have said." replied Polemos. "Goodbye Kratos, I will see you if you are lucky."

"Polemos! Don't you run from me!" demanded Kratos.

Yet there was no response.

Kratos stood upon the beach, wondering whether to take the desert route, or the sea route. After some mental deliberation, Kratos decided to go the way of the desert, and began walking along the hot sands.

"KRAAAAAAATOOOOSSS!" cried the female voice throughout the realm that he had heard earlier. "YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR DISLOYALTY! I WILL SEE TO IT PERSONALLY!"

Kratos was getting irritated with this voice and not knowing who she was.

"WHO are you woman?!" stated Kratos. "State your name if you dare!"

"Be gone, _soith_!" said another female voice unseen. "_Is Kratos mianach_!"

Kratos did not recognize the voice nor the language that this new female voice released, however upon this new woman's words, he heard a shriek from the other female's voice, and then silence. This voice was much lower, smoother, almost like the sound of a serpent's scales upon dry stone.

"_Dia duit_ Kratos!" said the new female voice, speaking in Kratos' tongue, but with an unfamiliar accent. "I am here to protect you…will you let me? Let me, protect you, let me, love you."

Unsure what to think, Kratos stood silently for a moment, not trusting either voice source in the least.

"Whoever you are, I need neither protection nor love!" snapped Kratos. "And I would have been able to handle whatever challenges the previous woman would have sent my way! Now depart from my hearing!"

Before Kratos, a supple, naked, fair-skinned young woman with jet-black hair, sauntered towards him in a most seductive manner, pressing her breasts against his chest, and caressing his beard.

"Alright then _mo ghrá_." said the woman. "Forget about love, other than simple physical love. I can tell you would please me a thousand times over."

Kratos could feel himself growing hard, which the woman wasted to time in exploiting. Reaching her hand underneath his kilt, she stroked his petrified manhood.

"I can tell you want me." replied the woman. "I want you too, see?"

Guiding Kratos' other hand, she placed his fingers upon her clitoris, so he could feel her wetness.

Despite what his body was willing him to do, Kratos decided not to trust this realm, and removed her hand from underneath his kelt.

"This is merely a trick of Polemos!" said Kratos. "Now, depart from here, demoness of Hades!"

With a pouty look on her face, the woman started to cry, holding her face in her hands. Then, she removed her hands, and laughed manically.

"You should have chosen love over war, Kratos." said the woman. "You are no longer under my protection, from her, or from ME!"

The woman with the strange accent dissipated in wisps of purple smoke, and behind him, Kratos heard something bellow, only to turn around and find a cow running towards him.

It was an enormous, white-colored heifer with red ears, and deep green eyes, snorting and bellowing as she charged him. Kratos jumped out of the way before she could trample him, and slashed at the cow's neck, severing her head from her body. Upon his blade's impact, the cow also dissipated into purple smoke.

All of the sudden, Kratos felt an intense pain in his ankle, as if thick needles were being pressured into his skin. He turned around to see a large, gray wolf, grasping onto his leg and thrashing it. The wolf had the same deep green eyes that the cow did. Beating the wolf over the head with his fists, Kratos was unsuccessful in driving the wolf from its grip, and drove both his blades into the wolf's chest. The wolf yipped in pain before turning into purple smoke.

Thinking everything was over, Kratos decided to change course and go towards the sea. As he did so, he was taken aback by a gigantic creature that shot from the water, and knocked him to the ground, wrapping around his neck.

By the feel of its skin and shape, Kratos deduced it was a giant eel, and tried his best to pry the creature away from his neck and ribs, which the eel squeezed tightly like a boa constrictor. The face of the eel, clearly a moray eel, looked directly at Kratos, containing the same green eyes that the heifer and wolf had. Squeezing as tightly as it could, the eel attempted to bite Kratos' head off, but Kratos anticipated such a move, and performed a duck and roll, getting his head out of harm's way, and kicking the eel in the head using the roll's momentum. Caught unawares, the eel loosened its grip on Kratos, giving him a moment to wriggle out, which he did, and then carved the eel up into tiny pieces, and threw them all back into the sea. Upon seeing them hit the water, they appeared to dissolve into a green puddle, and eventually disappear. But before they did, Kratos heard the new female voice deliver a dire warning.

"Do not die to soon, Kratos." said the voice. "For we shall meet again."

Shrugging off the cryptic warning, Kratos began to turn back towards the desert route, but all of the sudden, saw something emerge from the ocean fog.

It was a ship, a Greek war ship.

The ship came closer and closer to shore, and a ladder descended, allowing those aboard the ship to come forward. Only 4 figures exited the ship, and began to walk towards Kratos. Once they were within the light, Kratos recognized only one of them.

"Dionysus!" said Kratos. "Have you come to challenge me as well?!"

"Dear Olympus, no!" said Dionysus, the Greek God of Wine , Grapes, Parties and Insanity. "Not every being within this realm is a God of War. Lord Kratos, I've awaited our meeting for so long, ever since you took on the Gods of Olympus!"

"Yet, you were never there to assist me!" growled Kratos. "Why should I trust you?"

"Indeed I was not brother, and for that, I profusely apologize." said Dionysus, falling to his knees. "I supported your cause, and went into hiding for fear of Zeus' discovery; for my cowardice, there is no excuse. However, I am here to make it up to you now, and vow to serve you for all eternity."

Kratos stayed his weapons, wanting to hear more.

"I swear upon the River Styx, that I, my ship Neaavgi, Captain Acoetes of the Nevaagvi, and all crew members and guests aboard the Nevaagi, shall never do you any harm whatsoever, and shall support your goals and wishes in any way you ask, without question, for all eternity." said Dionysus.

Impressed by the conviction of his promise, by swearing upon Styx, Kratos was convinced Dionysus' motives were sincere; a promise upon the Styx was nothing to be taken lightly, and if broken, could be catastrophic for the one making the promise.

"Very well, I accept your stewardship." said Kratos. "How is it that you have come here Dionysus?"

"I cannot explain it, Lord Kratos." said Dionysus. "As soon as I saw Hope released to mankind, I found myself sucked into this realm. Perhaps it had something to do with me mentally committing loyalty to you beforehand."

"I know nothing either way." said Kratos. "All I know is I am here to fight until all foes are defeated."

"Then please Kratos, let me help you." asked Dionysus, turning to the figure on his right. "This is Captain Acoetes, once deckhand, and now captain, of my mighty ship, the Neaavgi."

Dionysus outstretched his hand to show the ship in all its glory to Kratos, then turned back to Kratos and Captain Acoetes.

"Captain Acoetes swore long ago upon Styx to serve me." explained Dionysus. "The only one on a ship of pirates who did me any sort of good, and the only one not dead or turned into a dolphin. By serving me, he serves you."

Captain Acoetes bowed before Kratos.

"I swear upon the River Styx to serve you faithfully, truly, and without question, above all others." said Captain Acoetes, before getting up, then gesturing to his side. "Lord Dionysus was able to find many of the souls of your blessed ones from Styx, and has brought them here to serve as deckhands."

Kratos looked, and indeed saw his beloved Spartans' souls, 2 of them, in uniform, who bowed before him and offered their undying loyalty and service to Kratos, above all others, upon the River Styx, followed by the entire crew.

"Very well." said Kratos. "Let us sail to wherever I am bound to go next."

"Yes my Lord." Said Dionysus. "Follow me."

Following Dionysus' and Captain Acoetes' lead, Kratos boarded the ship, watching multiple Spartan souls performing deck duties, and various ship operations.

"Time to shove off!" said Captain Acoetes. "To the North!"

The crew brought up the anchor, and the ship sailed off into the northern direction.

The ship had gone about 30 miles north, when all of the sudden, a great clash of lightning struck the bow of the ship. The winds stopped completely, and the ship was completely still.

"What is going on Dionysus?!" demanded Kratos, annoyed.

"I do not know my Lord." said Dionysus. "Let's go find out."

Kratos, Dionysus, and Captain Acoetes walked towards where the lighting had struck. Expecting to find a smoldering hole in the bow, they were surprised to see that no damage whatsoever was there, but a man stood instead.

He was an older, shorter man, with black skin, a face full of dark black and red makeup, and strange tattoos all over his upper body. He had a gray-white beard, long claws, a bald head, and penetrating, yellow eyes, without pupils. In his right hand, he held a wooden staff, with a human skull upon the top.

"Who are you, and what do you want?!" demanded Kratos.

"_Lapè, monsieur!_" replied the strange figure. _"Non mwen se_ Papa Legba, and I am keeper of de crossroads! Kratos, da God of War! You have a destiny ta fulfill, and I 'ere to open da gate of your choice."

Kratos looked at this strange old man he'd never seen before in his life.

"Is this Janus, in disguise?!" asked a puzzled Kratos.

"No no no mon!" replied Papa Legba. "I not from da world you know. I be taken from me world, and find myself 'ere, so I help dose wit their destiny, and you have da greatest of all 'ere!"

"Enough of this idle nonsense!" said Kratos. "What do you want from me?!"

"Only, a choice." said Papa Legba. "Da sea not gonna move nowhere until me open da gate. You da one who have da most crucial destiny 'ere, and you should choose da path! So Kratos, I ask you, which direction? Any path you choose be open, and da choice shape your path, but only you control your destiny mon."

Papa Legba motioned his staff to the water, passing it over all directions in front of them. The sky thundered and cracked with lightining.

Puzzling over the decision for a moment or 2, Kratos decided to go with his gut instinct, having no clue where this would lead them. Yet, it seemed to be the right path.

"Northwest." replied Kratos.

"Very well, Kratos mon!" replied Papa Legba. "It be done! Da gate is open, now go to your destiny!"

In another flash of lightning, the old man was gone, and the winds and waters began to move once again. Captain Acoetes took the helm, and began to instruct the crew.

"Set a course Northwest!" exclaimed Captain Acoetes. "Lord Kratos' orders."

Having had a strange, yet action-packed day, Kratos sat down atop a barrel on the deck for a moment, to take a brief reprieve.

"Lord Kratos." said Dionysus. "The best cabin for you is reserved downstairs, and there's a surprise waiting for you, should you want it."

"Very well." said Kratos stoically, and began to venture down the stairs.

Kratos walked past the common cabins, the first mate's cabin, even the captain's cabin, to the best door that he happened to see. Opening the door, he saw indeed it was a cabin fit for a god, especially because of what was in his bed.

"Hello Kratos." said the goddess Aphrodite. "I've missed you, and you look like you've earned some comfort."

"Indeed I have." said Kratos, as he slipped into bed.

END OF BOOK 1

(don't miss the next volume in the Eternal Claim Series – Book II: The New Odyssey)

(Check out artwork from this story on deviantart under RealPMP's account)


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